Any Other Name
by DreamerOfTheDay
Summary: Castiel is confused and hurting, uncertain of the value of his own life. He is coaxed into going to see a live band perform at the bar, who are almost always mentioned with high praise. Unfortunately, Castiel discovers a new-found distaste for the musical arts when he discovers that the lead singer of the band is a cocky, flirtatious man with an ego of biblical proportions.
1. Feeling Good

_**Feeling Good**_

"Cas?"

Snowflakes fell gently from the sky, carried around by a frosty wind that chilled the glass window that he was looking out of. Castiel did not register the call of his close friend, who was stacking cups beside the coffee machine, concern etched into the sides of her eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Again, no response. She dried and placed the last of the cups, and delicately made her way to his side.

Castiel finally turned around, snapped out of his trance by a soft hug.

"Sorry, Anna. I'll be okay soon enough, I suppose."

She smiled sadly, not fully understanding the pain he was feeling. "What happened between you two?" Her voice was barely a whisper, just loud enough to be heard over the wind outside.

"I don't… I'm not ready to talk about it," Castiel replied.

"Alright. Don't worry about that, but let's go out tonight. It'll be fun, and I heard that someone new is performing at the Avenue all week."

It had been a while since he had done anything fun, and the Avenue bar almost always had music he liked. The food was great too. "That sounds… not entirely awful," he replied with a smile.

Anna flipped the sign on the door to the side that read 'OPEN,' and took her place behind the counter. The cash register beeped momentarily before the LED display flickered to life. They would need to replace it soon. Castiel shook himself off, fully switching to work mode and heading to his post at the coffee machine.

The day passed very quietly, most people being kept inside their homes by the bitter cold. The most common orders were all a variant of the hot chocolate that they offered, which Castiel found to be too sickly sweet to enjoy.

Days like this had seemed few and far in between, especially of late. There was an easiness to them, allowing more room for quiet thought and reflection. Come to think of it, Castiel hadn't really had much time like this at all. Thoughts came as slowly as customers did.

Today was going very well. It was relaxing to be free of the thoughts that had been plaguing him of late.

It did not take the two of them long to clean up the shop, and once they were done Castiel locked the front door and followed Anna out to the car park behind the small building. Her car was parked very close, and thankfully it did not need to be freed from the thin blanket of snow that had covered it. Anna turned the heat up as far as it would go, sighing in pleasure as the seat grew warm beneath her.

"That has got to be one of man's greatest inventions," she murmured.

Castiel nodded in agreement.

The streets between work and the place Castiel was living were largely vacant, save for a few children who were being called back inside by their mother. Winter here used to be Castiel's favourite time of the year. It always felt like the beginning of the beginning - before life started to come back. Everything was white, wiped clean of any notable features. Nothing was out there, and it was incredibly peaceful.

"Lost in your thoughts again I see." Anna's voice broke the silence.

Apparently he was already home and he had not realised. "Oh. Thanks Anna. What time should I be ready tonight?"

"I guess seven-thirty. Some of my friends will be there, so we don't have to worry about getting a table."

"Your friends? Does that mean Gabriel will be joining us? You know how I feel about him."

"Relax, he's working tonight. I don't think you've met any of these guys yet."

Castiel was beginning to feel reluctant. Meeting people was not his forte. "Maybe not…"

"Cas, trust me. They're cool, and I think you could do with meeting someone new, especially after what happened with-

"Fine. Just… let's not talk about that."

"Deal. I'll pick you up later."

Snow was still falling when Castiel stepped out of the car, so he rushed to his front door and fumbled around in his pocket for the keys to his house. It was unbearably cold, and when he finally got inside the fireplace was his first destination. It was not long before the flames came to life, casting a warm glow over the small room. Once the fire was going, his cat trotted over to him and purred against his leg. Satisfied with a scratch behind its ears, it sat down in front of the fire and closed its eyes.

"What now," he muttered to himself, looking around. His eyes took in his surroundings, eager to continue the relaxing day that he had had so far. On the far side of his lounge, he spotted the Nina Simone record that Anna had given him for his birthday. "Perfect," he said, smiling to himself.

A small note was attached. In Anna's familiar scrawl, the words 'feel good' took up most of the space, surrounded by many tiny kisses. He slipped the vinyl disc from its jacket and placed it on the player gently. The familiar scratch of the pin on the disc began; followed by what Castiel considered to be one of the most beautiful voices he had ever had the pleasure of experiencing.

Feeling Good played in the background while he set some water to boil and retrieved his favourite mug from the cupboard. He rummaged around in the jar that held his tea, frowning as he discovered that there were only two bags of peppermint tea left. He wrote a reminder into his phone so that he would remember to buy some more the next time he went out.

The Avenue was a popular place for people his age to go to, with live music performances most nights and a decent playlist for when there was no band available. It had opened up around the same time Cas had started working with Anna, who already knew the owners. As it approached the time he was supposed to be picked up, he headed into his room to put on some nicer clothes. Eventually a black patterned sweater was decided upon, along with a pair of blue jeans and his Chuck Taylors. Satisfied with his appearance, Castiel sat on the couch to get in a few minutes of Animal Crossing while he waited.

Before he left, he filled up the food bowl for the cat and changed its water. He glanced over at the grey ball of fur, snoring faintly in front of the fireplace before he left. Anna was waiting outside, seat already heated just for him.


	2. The Last of Us

_**The Last of Us**_

When Anna had pulled into the area behind the bar, it did not seem like they would be able to find a place to park. She thought she would try and park in her usual spot, hidden by a large set of shrubs that blocked the space from view.

Instead of finding the spot vacant like it usually was, a black Chevrolet Impala sat there. Castiel could not help but notice how awfully smug and obnoxious the car looked, wondering if that characteristic continued over to its owner.

"I've never seen that car before," Anna stated.

Castiel nodded in response, but before he spoke he spotted a car leaving its space at the other end of the lot. "Anna, over there." He showed her where to go, and by the time they had parked any thought of the mystery car had left his mind.

The building that housed the bar was one of the largest, oldest establishments in the area and despite it being an iconic landmark; it saw many different owners and went through many different uses. Before the owner purchased the building with her brother, it was a restaurant, and before that, it was a library and café. It was once a fruit market, then an art gallery and even an adult store that sold many overpriced goods. They were greeted at the front door by the bouncer, who let them in without any proper identification check. He smiled somewhat uncomfortably at Anna, who, when questioned about the awkward interaction, quietly informed Castiel that he did not want to know.

A small, slight young man pushed through the crowd of people and pulled them aside. "Anna, glad you could make it. And Castiel!?"

"You two know Sam?" Anna asked, bewildered. "I wasn't aware Castiel had friends. Aside from me, of course."

"We went to school together," Sam replied. He smiled at Castiel, hoping that he would not divulge the true nature of their relationship to Anna.

"I have not seen you for a very long time, Samandriel." he replied. "Where are we sitting?"

"I prefer Sam now. C'mon, everyone is waiting over there."

Samandriel –Sam– had obviously changed quite a bit since his art school days. The two of them actually used to be quite close until a falling out of sorts. Thankfully, whatever had happened between the two of them was long forgotten.

The interior itself was mainly comprised of deep, red-brown wood and stone flooring. From the entrance, a short walkway opened out into a large square room. To the left was a raised seating area where you could order small meals and watch the live performances on the stage in the centre of the floor. To the right was the bar, which provided ample viewing of the stage, but was mostly a lounge area meant for sit down drinks. Stairs behind the stage accessed the staff only area, and a small red door was where the band could wait before they were scheduled to perform.

It was at the bar that they met the remainder of Anna's friends, one of whom – Nate – was clearly intended for Castiel to 'bond' with. He was nice enough, and certainly very handsome with his dark hair and bright eyes. There was something distinctly _Clark Kent _about his appearance.

Unfortunately, he just was not really his _type._

For starters, his answer to 'what are your favourite singers?' was "I don't really listen to that much music, but I'd have to say Taylor Swift or Katy Perry."

"I see," replied Castiel.

Secondly, Taken 2 was his favourite movie. As soon as Castiel learned this, his mind was made up.

Thankfully, the talking did not continue further, as it was time for the music to begin. It seemed like whoever was performing was highly anticipated, with the whole building falling quiet.

An incredibly beautiful woman emerged from the stage-side door, and stepped up to the microphone.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Dean Winchester, and I'm here as part of the Unlucky, who'll be performing for you tonight. They shall be out shortly." He smiled flirtatiously, no doubt intended to woo those in the audience who were interested him. They were there to sell their music, after all. It only served to irritate Castiel, who muttered under his breath about the arrogance of musicians.

Dean sat down by the microphone, and waved the rest of the band members over. The first one out of the door was an impossibly tall man in a green shirt, towering over everyone else that superseded him. He took his place at the drums, and tied up his hair in a short ponytail. Next was a rather geeky looking girl, with long red hair and a bright, patterned dress. In her hands was a beautiful violin, ornately decorated and most likely custom-made. Castiel did not realise it, of course, but he was examining each band member as you would a set of trinkets on a golden chain. Finally, the last member of the band, a very beautiful and elegant looking woman, stepped up to an acoustic guitar that was leaning against a small chair.

"Okay," Dean said. "Before we begin, let me just say – it is such a pleasure to see so many beautiful people here tonight."

A groan escaped Castiel's mouth before he could stop himself. It did not go unnoticed, with Dean briefly making eye contact before turning back to the audience.

"Okay then," he continued. "Our first song is called _The Last of Us. _I guess it was inspired partly by the game of the same name-" girl with the violin cheered slightly "-but it also is for those who've had to say goodbye, even if it was the hardest thing they had to do."

The lights dimmed, and Dean looked back at his band. The nodded back at him, and the music started.

Bela and the violin girl slowly started to play, both instruments sounding gentle and complementing each other perfectly. Dean closed his eyes, and moved very faintly in time with the swelling of the music.

"_You better run boy, time to let her go  
we've got to leave and let the city burn."_

So far, so good, Castiel thought. Surprisingly so, which made it all the more annoying. True to what Dean had said, this was a song about letting go. It was painful, but it hurt in such a beautiful way that it caused anger to rise inside Castiel. All of Castiel's rules on assumptions and judging people were seemingly thrown out the window in the eyes of this incredibly irritating stranger. To think that all of his feelings were being summed up by someone who looked like they would never have experienced something like that…

"_Love is waiting in another's eyes  
But you were lost boy, 'cause you were blind."_

Castiel stood up to leave, regretting the decision to join them on their night out. Unfortunately for him, he had come with Anna, so he begrudgingly sat back down. Anna leaned in, whispering into his ear.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Well, I was going to leave. I realise now that that's not possible, unfortunately. Since I came with you and all."

Anna turned to Nate, and whispered something into his ear too. Whatever it was caused him to stand up and walk slowly to the exit.

"What's going on?" Castiel muttered, somewhat tersely.

"Nate is taking you home."

An odd spasm crossed Castiel's face, before he turned back to Anna with pursed lips. "What were you thinking with him? We've nothing in common!"

Someone in the audience asked them to be quiet, forcing Anna to reply more promptly. "You don't need to know someone that well to get in bed with them. Just go, have fun. You'll enjoy that more than you seem to be enjoying this."

He hated to admit it, but she was right. He stood up again, but on his way to the exit, Dean caught his eye.

His facial expression looked somewhat offended, as if asking where he was going. Castiel responded by rolling his eyes and walking away.

When he got outside, it was incredibly cold again. Castiel forgot to wear something to cope with such a degree of coldness, and to his delight Nate provided him with his coat.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine."

Nate walked over to his car, waiting at the door for Castiel to get in. As soon as they were both seated, he started the car and turned up the heater.

"Sorry," Castiel murmured.

"For what?" Nate replied.

"I've been… rude. I'm not usually like this, but I'm still a little sore and-"

"Don't worry about it," Nate said warmly. "Anna explained everything."

Castiel raised an eyebrow. "Surely not _everything._"

Nate laughed. "Well, everything that I needed to know."

The rest of the drive home was very relaxed, some of Nate's jokes even drawing a smile or two from Castiel. Anna had indeed found someone to take his mind off things, even if only for a night.


	3. Today I Met the Boy I'm Gonna Marry

_**Today I Met the Boy I'm Gonna Marry**_

Sunlight filtered through the blinds hanging above Castiel's bed frame, illuminating both him and the man lying by his side. With a yawn and a mighty stretch, Castiel shook off the last of the sleep that held him down, before sitting up in the bed. He looked over his shoulder at Nate, who was still sleeping deeply.

His eyes lingered perhaps a little longer than they should have, but the body before him was so perfectly built that he could not help but stare. Somehow during the night, the sheets on the bed became twisted and caught up, covering only the lower part of his back. This man was obviously no stranger to working out, as every part of his body was thickly carved muscle, seemingly hewn from the finest marble.

_Better get moving, _Castiel thought. He slipped from the bed, quietly picking a pair of briefs up from one of the drawers beside his bed. After he found a clean (enough) shirt, he picked up his black skinny jeans, and made an attempt at slipping into them quietly. Unfortunately, however, slipping was the only thing he managed to do successfully and he ended up lying on the floor with his legs up in the air.

He smirked, remembering himself in a similar position last night. Rising as silently as possible, he pulled his legs through and delicately made his way out of his bedroom. Nate appeared to be an incredibly heavy sleeper, not even stirring once during Castiel's attempts at getting dressed.

Before he left the house, he wrote a small note and left it on the bench telling Nate that he would be back soon with food for breakfast. He was quite hungry, and assumed that Nate would be too.

His favourite sweater, and the warmest one he owned, was lying on the couch and being used as a bed by his cat.

"Move," Castiel whispered.

The cat opened an eye, looked at Castiel, and then snuggled even further into the sweater.

"You are impossible…" he muttered, a smile spreading across his face.

There was a coat hanging on a rack above the heater, which, he was delighted to find, was toasty warm and free of cat hair.

It was still quite early by the time he arrived at the grocery store, it being only a short walk from his house. Hardly anyone was outside, and there was likely even less people inside the shop.

Had he not been too busy looking at his phone, Castiel might have noticed a particularly irritating car parked a few spaces down from him.

The automatic doors parted and warm air rushed forth to greet him. He stepped inside and looked around, waving to the cashier who welcomed him inside.

Perhaps it was because it was not particularly busy, or maybe the music was just up louder than usual, but one of the first things that Castiel noticed about the store was the music being played over the speaker system. It was an old song, but one that Castiel knew very well.

"_Today I met the boy I'm gonna marry  
He's all I wanted all my life and even more."_

He hummed along as he moved through the aisles, quickly and expertly selecting the ingredients to make an incredibly delicious breakfast. Once he'd picked up everything he needed for breakfast, he made his way over to the aisle where the tea was stocked. He crouched down to the bottom shelf, looking for his favourite brand.

"_He smiled at me and the music started playing  
Here comes the bride when he walked through the door."_

Castiel sensed a pair of feet stopping nearby, but remained ignorant of who they belonged to. Perhaps they were after the same tea.

"Excuse me," the man said. "Do you know where they keep the pie? I thought it might be where the biscuits and stuff are, but-

"I am not employed here," Castiel replied, cutting him off before he could finish.

He stood up and turned away, without paying any more attention to the man. As he moved to walk off, the man stopped him.

"Wait."

Castiel turned around, nearly dropping the food he held in his arms. "What are you doing here?" It was none other than Dean Winchester, who, after only two days of being in town, was beginning to annoy Castiel very much.

"Well I'm looking for pie, like I just said," Dean replied. "Apparently you don't like to listen, at least not to me."

An odd spasm flicked across Castiel's face, as he was unused to receiving such an amount of snark, particularly this early in the morning. "You- I-

"Whatever," Dean muttered, turning away.

Something about the expression on his face suggested that he was doing this to get back at Castiel for last night, and had he the time, an argument likely would have been pursued. However, today was not right for it and the two of them went on their separate ways.

When he arrived home with the shopping, he filled the cat's bowls with food and water, wondering where he had gotten to.

He decided that he would wake Nate up and inform him of the breakfast that would soon be ready. As gingerly as he could, avoiding the creakiest of stairs, he walked up to his room and noiselessly opened the door.

Nate had turned over in his sleep, exposing his Grecian chest and magnificent abdomen. Apparently the cat liked the look of him just as much, and had decided to turn the lower part of his stomach into a bed. Its ears twitched when Castiel came in, and then it yawned and stretched out its whole body before trotting away.

Once the blinds were fully open, and the room was bathed in light, Castiel tried shaking him gently. Nate still did not wake, so he shook him a little more firmly and half-whispered, half-shouted his name.

"Good morning," he said, smiling. He sat up and looked around, suddenly becoming aware of how naked he was. "Um… where are my clothes?"

"I… am actually not sure. Here're your underpants," he said, picking them up off the floor. In the light of day, he noticed that his briefs bore the Superman emblem. "And here's your shirt."

His pants were lying just beyond the frame of the door, and once he had all of his clothes, Castiel went back downstairs and into the kitchen. The smell of bacon frying permeated the air, along with a mix of spices and the unmistakable scent of toasting bread.

Quickly and assuredly, Castiel spread tomato relish on the bottom half of a Turkish pide, and then layered on cheese, some fresh rocket, crispy bacon and a thinly sliced wild mushrooms.

"That smells freaking amazing."

"Thank you," replied Castiel. "Now eat."

While they were eating, Nate continually talked about largely trivial issues that held no importance to Castiel. In his mind, Castiel was already moving on to other things, like what needed to be done at the café tomorrow, or what he was going to do for dinner that night.

"Alright, I'm off," Nate said suddenly.

"Great," replied Castiel. "I mean…"

Nate laughed, before heading to the door with his keys in hand. "Thanks for last night. It was fun. I'm glad I got to have a good night before I leave town."

"Travel safe," Castiel replied. Nate must have mentioned that he was leaving at some point, but Castiel had not heard. It did not matter anyway, as there would be less for him to worry about.

He went about the rest of his day as he usually did, feeling somewhat elated yet relaxed at the same time. The bed sheets needed a change now, so once they were washed and drying, Castiel settled down with an old book and a mug of tea. He sighed in pleasure as he settled into the couch and began to read, chuckling softly as the cat leapt up to snooze on his legs.


	4. Tonight's the Kind of Night

It was early in the morning when Castiel awoke to the sound of his phone vibrating on the nightstand. He clumsily reached over to it, knocking aside several myriad objects that were strewn across the surface.

"Hello?" he asked, a long yawn escaping him.

It was Anna, who sounded equally as tired as he did. "Sorry to bug you, but there's a group coming in today who're having some kind of party and I'm going to need your help setting it up. Samandriel and a few others are coming to work too. I need you at the bar, if that's okay."

"Uh, sure, whatever."

Anna had continued talking into the phone, but Castiel had once again fallen asleep. His phone had gotten lost in the tangled sheets, muffling Anna's voice until the only sound that could be heard was the rain outside.

* * *

Spending the night with someone and then experiencing the next day alone had served to remind Castiel of all the things he had lost. When he woke, and properly this time, he felt incredibly helpless. The dark seemed to creep in from the edges of his vision, leaving him feeling cold and empty. The weather outside was just as gloomy as Castiel felt, doing nothing to help his worsening emotions.

As if on cue, he heard the sound of his phone alerting him to a text message. He rummaged around in the sheets and grimaced as his phone slipped free and hit the ground. Luckily there was no discernible damage, so he tapped the screen to see who the text was from.

At first, he could not believe the name that appeared.

He looked at it again, swallowing hard. His palms became sweaty, and he could feel his heartbeat speeding up inside his chest. His throat became dry as his breathing quickened.

Remembering what he had learned, he closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. _Pull yourself together, Cas_ he thought to himself. _It's just a message, there's no need to get anxious _he repeated continuously.

Once he was sufficiently calmed, he read the message.

_Hey, I didn't reply last time because I think 'how are you,' is such a boring question. I've been too busy to talk lately, but I'm not ignoring you. _

An odd thing happened then. Instead of the usual hastiness to apologise, Castiel grew angry. It was incredibly rude, and he said he was too _busy _to reply.

Often Castiel had been told that he had too much heart – and this was his problem. When he asked how someone was, he genuinely did care about how they were going.

"Whatever."

He threw his phone down, perhaps a little too firmly and went about preparing himself for work. He cleaned his room (which he never did), cleaned the kitchen (another thing rarely done) and even ironed his clothing.

At one point, his cat came up to him and stared at him for a while.

"Aw," Castiel said, scratching him behind the ears. At first, he thought that the cat had sensed something was up with him. "You're such a good boy," said Castiel, smiling warmly. "I really should have named you by now."

It turned out that the cat was just hungry though, because as soon as his bowl was full he paid no mind to his owner who was walking about the house.

About a half hour before everything had been done, Anna called and told him she was out the front waiting to drive him to work.

As soon as he sat in the car, Anna picked up on his unusual demeanour.

"What's the matter?" she asked, looking concerned. "Was it him?"

Instead of speaking, Castiel just showed her the message.

She twitched horribly, an angry spasm crossing her usually calm face. "Just ignore it. You're busy."

"Yeah," Castiel replied.

Once again, they drove to work in silence, each one of them thinking different things about the same man. Anna, who was fiercely protective of those she loved and what she deemed to be right, was thinking of many different and subtle ways she could remove the one who had hurt her friend from the face of the earth. Castiel, for whom loyalty made up much of his personality, was struggling with the feelings of anger and pain that were swimming about inside him.

However, as soon as the two of them set foot inside their workplace, they stopped thinking about anything but their jobs. Some of the other employees that Anna had called were already there setting up decorations, while others were rearranging tables in order to make more floor space.

"Who organised this?" Castiel asked, turning to Anna.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure… Charlie someone. She was kinda awkward about it when she called. Didn't even say who it was for."

"I see. As long as they're paying, it doesn't really matter I suppose."

It took them several hours to make the café's style fit the desires of the hostess. Just setting up was exhausting enough, and there was no telling how long this kind of party could go for. About a half hour before the party was scheduled to start, Samandriel and two young women knocked on the door.

About five or so minutes after that, a delivery of DJ equipment arrived, helmed by a very familiar looking girl with long red hair. She walked up to Anna, extending her hand and smiling somewhat flirtatiously.

"I'm Charlie," she said. "Thank you for agreeing to this, especially on such short notice."

Anna returned the warm greeting, asking what she thought of the set up at the moment. Meanwhile, Castiel was behind the bar taking stock and setting up everything he would need to keep everyone suitably buzzed for the night.

"Uh, Castiel?" Samandriel muttered, stepping behind the counter. "You might want to…"

"I can't hear you," he replied. "Could you say that again?"

"Well… remember when we saw that band the other day… uh, you know what – never mind. The guests are arriving."

"Alright, I'll head out back and change. Do you need anything?"

"Nope," Samandriel replied. He walked off wearing a slight smirk.

Castiel shrugged, too focussed on what he was doing to pay it any mind. He eagerly put on his proper uniform, and then pinned his name tag to his shirt. Truth be told, he was looking forward to working hard, because it meant he was free from the many troubling thoughts that would have been plaguing him otherwise.

Evidently, the group partying tonight quite liked their drinks, as they continuously streamed through. He served so many people, that any distinction between them was lost. No matter how tall and moose-like they were, or how adorned in Harry Potter references they were, or even how ridiculously beautiful they appeared to be, he did not realise that their presence meant someone else was going to be there.

"What can I get you?" Castiel asked. "We're out of most spirits though. Beer and wine are still good on the tab."

"You just keep turning up everywhere I go, huh?"

"Wha- you?" Castiel stuttered.

"Yeah. Me. Name is Dean, if you didn't catch it the other night. I still don't know yours."

"I'm actually wearing a name tag, should you be able to read it."

Dean smiled in the most annoyingly perfect way, looking almost condescending. "I'm well equipped for dealing with sass. But you know… I've never met someone as 'anti-me' as you seem to be. Most people are at least a tiny bit interested."

"You're hardly interesting. Nor are you particularly impressive either. I bet you're used to just getting what you want because of your beautiful voice."

"You like my singing, then? I thought I wasn't impressive, or interesting."

"I – no, I meant… You're not-

Dean laughed, grinning from ear to ear.

"Shut up," Castiel growled.

"Make me," Dean replied.

No answer, save for a brief glance at Dean's lips, came from Castiel. The two of them stared at each other for some time, before a rather drunk woman grabbed Dean by the arm and pulled him away.

"Sing for us!" she slurred, laughing happily as she handed Dean a microphone.

He agreed, and then asked Charlie to put a hold on her music for a few minutes while he did this song.

"Sure, we're supposed to be wrapping up the party in five minutes anyway."

Dean smiled in thanks, and asked that the room quiet down.

Charlie stopped her own music (which was a combination of chip-tunes with modern electronica) and set the backing track to play.

An upbeat drumming kicked in, and the thrumming of a bass guitar soon accompanied it. The lyrics were pleasant enough.

Castiel was doing his best to resist enjoying the song, because he could not handle seeing how smug Dean would be if he knew that he was right.

As the chorus neared, Dean made eye contact with Castiel, forcing him to pay attention to the words that followed.

"_In five years time,  
I might not know you,  
in five years time,  
we might not speak  
Oh!  
In five years time  
we might not get along  
in five years time…  
You might just prove me wrong."_

In a rare move, Castiel poured himself a drink and knocked it back in one swallow. Whatever Dean thought he was doing, Castiel did not have time for it, especially not now. It was not fair to appear out of nowhere and confuse him even more than he already was, especially so soon after what had happened.

But still, it did seem like Dean had chosen that song just so Castiel would hear it. It was as if the lyrics were meant for him.

The song ended, and Castiel hurried into the staff only area before Dean could return. He took his time emptying and re-stacking the dishwasher, ensuring that by the time he went back out there, there would be no obnoxious musicians in sight.

Everyone that was working that night was eager to get home, so they cleaned up what they had to as quickly as they could. Even Anna, who hated leaving this place unclean for the people working the next day, had said that it was time to go.

Everything from then on melded together, with Castiel seemingly being back at home in his bed instantaneously, with no recollection of how he got there. His cat was not in his bed, so Castiel just assumed that he had found somewhere else to sleep.

As he drifted off, his ears ringing with the absence of party music, he thought of Dean one last time before he finally fell asleep.


End file.
